This film showcases some of the UK's finest acting talent but it is let down by it's funereal pacing and unrelenting bleakness.
The performances by all the main characters are very strong. Timothy Spall is as reliable as ever and Lesley Manville has never been better as his partner Penny. Her face and nuances perfectly convey someone who has been bruised and battered by life and the world around her. Alison Garland is also outstanding as the daughter who is one of life's invisible people. There is a stillness and shyness about her that makes her position genuinely unsettling.
The film has some very strong moments. When it is time for Phil (Spall) to pay his weekly charge to the Taxi firm, his search for money is genuinely moving. The way people react when they are in crisis and the stupid things people say when they are in shock are also very well drawn.
Having said that I still walked out of this film disappointed. At 2 hrs 8 mins it is very heavy going - there is virtually no joy or optimism in this film. The film's strength is it's character observation but this has been done at the expense of plot development and it leaves us with a very one sided view of working class society.
The performances by all the main characters are very strong. Timothy Spall is as reliable as ever and Lesley Manville has never been better as his partner Penny. Her face and nuances perfectly convey someone who has been bruised and battered by life and the world around her. Alison Garland is also outstanding as the daughter who is one of life's invisible people. There is a stillness and shyness about her that makes her position genuinely unsettling.
The film has some very strong moments. When it is time for Phil (Spall) to pay his weekly charge to the Taxi firm, his search for money is genuinely moving. The way people react when they are in crisis and the stupid things people say when they are in shock are also very well drawn.
Having said that I still walked out of this film disappointed. At 2 hrs 8 mins it is very heavy going - there is virtually no joy or optimism in this film. The film's strength is it's character observation but this has been done at the expense of plot development and it leaves us with a very one sided view of working class society.